Pick a Plenary (Ideas for Mathematics)

According to OfSTED:

“the plenary is poorly used if it is simply a bolt-on-extra which provides an opportunity for groups of pupils to present their work daily; it is essential time for making sure that pupils have grasped the objectives and made

progress, so that the next lesson can begin on firm foundations”

Ideas from Mike Gershon – The Plenary Producer http://www.tes.co.uk/ResourceDetail.aspx?storyCode=6017890 and http://www.teach-ict.com/teacher/plenary/plenaries.htm

Contents• 10 TOP QUICK PICKS• TWO STARS AND A WISH• SHOW ME THE ANSWER• POSTMAN• WORD BOX• GO FOR FIVE• MR WRONG• TRUE/FALSE• WHAT DO YOU KNOW?• CONCEPT MAP• 5-5-1

• CROSS THE CURRICULUM• WHICH PIC?• BEAT THE TEACHER• PYRAMID• TARGETS• 60 SECONDS• BIG MATCH LIVE• ODD ONE OUT• GIVE THE SOLUTION• PLENARY TOOLS• GAME SHOW QUIZ (WHO WANTS TO BE A

MILLIONAIRE, HOT SEAT, JEOPARDY)

• MATHS JOURNALS

“10” top quick picks1. List three things you have learned today . Or List three things your neighbour has learned today

(Knee to knee chat)

2. Write the new words you have learned this lesson and what they mean

3. Write three/five top tips for…

4. Jigsaw feedback – groups work on different parts of task then reform to share findings

5. Change of role – student as teacher. What questions would you ask the class and why? Students write their own questions based on the objective of the lesson (these questions can then be selected randomly and used with the rest of the class)

6. Make a ‘mini book’ summarising or revising key ideas and vocabulary (end of unit plenary)

7. Revisit objective of the lesson self assessment – students indicate how they feel with respect to achieving the objective

8. Sentences with missing words and a selection of given words to fit in

9. Same or different?’ – give group of shapes/expressions/graphs and students identify what is the same and what is different about them

10. Aide memoirs – students devise their own ideas/mnemonics eg picture/visual clues to the meaning of key words (eg parallel or Never Eat Shredded Wheat) linked to objective

TWO STARS AND A WISH• Students identify two positive aspects of

the work of a peer and then express a wish about what the peer might do next time in order to improve another aspect of the work. 'I want to give you a star for the design of your fun park and a star for the way you drew your map to scale. I wish that you will tell us more about how you spent the budget’

• Teachers model this strategy several times, using samples of student work, before asking the students to use the strategy in pairs on their own. They check the process and ask pairs who have implemented the strategy successfully to demonstrate it to the whole group.

OR

SHOW ME THE ANSWER

Using mini-whiteboards, true/false cards, hand signals, different coloured cards etc. learners

show the answer to questions

Answer!

Back to Plenaries

MR POSTMAN

Use post-it notes to share reflection, recall and evaluation.

• Questions with alternative answers posted around the walls and students go to the answer they think is correct and explain why (could give 10 seconds

to reconsider) • In pairs, answer this question on a post-it/sheet, stick it on the board and

review. Does everyone agree?

.

Back to Plenaries

WORD BOX• Get a small box and at the end of each lesson

on a topic get the class to suggest things that you should write on a small piece of paper to post in the box. This could be key vocabulary or concepts etc. Then, when you get to the end of a topic take all the pieces of paper out of the box and use these to guide a class discussion of key things to remember about the topic.

GO FOR FIVE

• Don’t give out your lesson objectives at the start of the lesson! Get the pupils in the plenary to guess what your lesson objectives and things you wanted them to learn were. Tell them to go for five! Brilliant as an AFL tool for finding out what they actually did learn rather than what you wanted them to. You can be open with them and then share your lesson objectives which can lead to interesting discussions if they were different to what they suggested!

MR WRONG

• Giving wrong answer(s). Why is this wrong?

No square corners (right angles)

What’s wrong with this graphhttp://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Line-graph-starter-plenary-and-how-to-guide-6258651/

14 + 7 = 21 - 2

TRUE/FALSE

• Show me boards to answer True/False to statements given

• From lesson objective write 3 true and 3 false statements, give them to your partner to sort out (could follow up with large paper at front)

• Web diagram with false information – students have to select the correct information

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

(variation – ideas must be pictures instead of words)

CONCEPT MAP

Give students a list of words related to the lesson. This can either be on cards or on the board.

They must then turn these into a ‘map’, where each connection can be explained and justified.

e.g. 3D shape PRISM

PYRAMID CONGRUENT ENDS

Back to Plenaries

5 – 5 – 1 Summarise today’s topic in 5 sentences.

Reduce to 5 words.

Now to 1 word.

(with as many variations as there are numbers!)

Back to Plenaries

CROSS THE CURRICULUM

How does today’s learning link to three other subjects?

How can you use what you have learnt today in other subjects?

What skills can you take from today and use elsewhere in school?

How would you encounter the same topic differently in other subjects? (e.g. environment)

What links today’s topic to _______________ (insert subject here)

WHICH PIC?Back to Plenaries

Which picture matches your learning today? Explain why?(pictures = new ideas, problem solving, discussion, experimenting, team/group work, creativity)

BEAT THE TEACHERYour task is to try and beat the teacher!

Come up with questions based around your learning today and see if the teacher can answer them.

Develop by: - snowballing - writing questions on pieces of paper and

placing in a box. One student (sensible - able to vet)

thensits opposite the teacher at the front of the

class and pulls out questions to ask a la Mastermind.Back to Plenaries

PYRAMID

Question you have about the lesson

Things you have been

reminded of today

Things you have

learned today

TARGETS

What three things have you done well this lesson?

What can you improve next lesson?

How will you do this?

Back to Plenaries

60 Seconds

Timer on board – http://classtools.net/main_area/template_loader.php/?timer

Set students the challenge of summing up the lesson in sixty seconds.

Students then read out their summations until a really full picture is presented to the class.

(Develop by setting paired work – one speaker, one scribe; giving certain words/phrases to include; adjusting the time for more quick-fire/in-depth answers)

Back to Plenaries

THE BIG MATCH LIVEBack to Plenaries

Use a matching activity to consolidate learning.

For example: - Match the concepts to the pictures

- Match the word with the definition

- Match the verb with the action

Some potential concept images - http://www.acclaimimages.com/search_terms/concept.html

ODD ONE OUT

Make an odd-one-out activity based on today’s lesson .Could be key words, pictures, diagrams, concepts

3D shape

CylinderTrianglePrism

6 12 24 32 48

GIVE THE SOLUTION

Give the solution to a problem cut into strips, pairs/groups to put into correct order/sequence

Give the solution to a problem that students have to improve (eg graph, data collection, collecting like terms)

Give the solution . What could the question be? Eg The answer is 9 penguins what could the story problem be?

GAME SHOW QUIZ

• Write three “Who wants to be a Millionaire” type questions based on the content of today’s lesson with four different answer options in each case. OR http://www.mathplayground.com/math_millionaire.html

• Jeopardy : Set up your own class jeopardy game OR see http://www.math-play.com/Decimals-Jeopardy/decimals-jeopardy.html

• The answer is … what is the question?

• Get your learners to design a quiz around all you have learnt for the term. Have an end of term quiz

• See http://www2.ups.edu/community/tofu/lev2/journaling/writemath.htm

MATHS JOURNALS(A powerful tool for reflecting on learning)

Sample Direction #1: Reflect on your participation in class today and complete the following statements:I learned that I...I was surprised that I...I noticed that I...I discovered that I...I was pleased that I...

Use as part of your everyday Maths by adding a row/column to the bottom or right of the page in their Maths book.